Improvement in petroleum-wells



..U lllllllllll Patented. 1m. 2s, 1a75.'

max/4 1M141 WALLACE L. HARDISON, OF ST.

' UNITED fS'IATESf PATENT [OFEIGE PETERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PETROLEUM-WELLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 17 [,615, datedDecember 28, 1875; application filed,

Novemberl9,1875. f I

marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a petroleumwell having my improvementapplied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a detached view of the steampipeguiding-flange.

In another application for a patent for improvements in oil-wells, ofeven date herewith,

I have shown and described tubes for protect ing the steam-tube fromcontact with the saltwater which is frequently found in such wells, I

and for permitting the escape of the gas and the surplus steam from thewell without the injury to the well which would ordinarily result fromthe action of the heat and moisture of the escaping steam upon the slaterock of the well. This invention is designed to reduce the cost which isinvolved in the application of such tubes. I

A represents the oil-bearing rock, and A A A the upper strata of rockand soil. B is the casing,which usually extends to such depth as willexclude the fresh water. B is the casingcap. 0 is the pumping-tube, ofany usual or approved construction, and provided with the ordinarypumping-rod and valves, which need not, therefore, be described. D isthe steaur tube, extending to near the bottom of the well, care beingtaken to keep its lower end above such portion of dead-oil or water ascannot be readily removed by the pump. E is the supplementary orprotecting tube, surrounding the steam-tube D, and either united to thepacker F by a water-tight joint, or connected with the steam-tube D by awatertight joint near the packer, or extending through the packer, asshown in the drawings.

The packer (represented at F) may be of any desired manufacture, and asthis invention does not relate to the packer, I propose to employ anyone which will answer my purpose.

As the salt -water will rarely rise to within some hundreds of feet ofthe top of the well, I have invented a construction which enables me todispense with such length of pipe as would otherwise be required toreach from'the salt-water level to the top of the well. This salt-waterlevel can be easily ascertained by proper soundings, and at this level,or at a short distance above this point, I attach a steam-tubeguiding-flange, G, to the pumping-tube O. The flange need not be rigidlyconnected to the pumping-tube; in fact, l usually secure a collar orclamp to the pumpingtube below the flange, so that when the tube iswithdrawn from the well the collar will bring the flange with it. It isprovided with two holes-one, c, for the pumping-tube, and another, 0,for the protecting-tube E. It is circular in form, and is dishing orconcave, with its sides converging toward the protecting-pipe opening 0.Tube E is rigidly attached to the guide 0, so that it (tube E) may beraised and lowered with the pumpingtube, and the distance at which thesetubes 0 and E are placed apart may be governed by the kind of packer, ifany, which is to be used with them, or by any other circumstance. orfeature of construction. The guiding-flange is, by preference, aboutone-quarter of an inch less in diameter than the bore of the well.

After the pumping-tube G and protectingtube E, with packer F, have beenplaced in position, the steain-tubeD may be introduced, and when itreaches the guiding-flange G the converging sides of the flange willinsure that the lower end of .the steam-pipe enters the tube E withoutfail.

In operating my devices, the dead-oil or oil and water are pumped outthrough the pumping-tube 0, in order that the discharge of steam may beunobstructed, as a small amountof either oil or water in the well willprevent heat thereby produced will beconfinedbelow' the packer, as -the.water above said packer.

will condense the steam which might otherwise pass up throughtube E,and. in. case. there be not enough water above the packer, i i I asuflicient quantity to-produce the desired result may bepoured in fromabove.

One of the objects in making. flange 0 s01 jmnch smaller than the boreof the well is to it permit water to be poured into the well to snrround tube E without having such water ru into. the tube.

By my construction the steam-tube may be withdrawn without disturbingthe packer.

What I claim is- 1. The combination of the pumpingktnjbejlOthestealn-tubeD, and the "protecting-tube E, i supported upon thepumping-tube, substan tially as set forth.

set forth. I

In testimonythat I claim the foregoingas my own I affix my-signature inpresence of two i witnesses.

'WALLAOE L. HARDISON. Witnesses: 1 E. 0. WEAVER,

H. H. DOUBLEDAY.

2. The combinationof thegnidingflanQdO! with the protecting-tube E;snbstantially as];

